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MAIMONIDES

“One only loves the Holy One blessed be He through the knowledge of Him. This love is commensurate to the knowledge. If the knowledge is little, the love will be little; and if the knowledge is great, the love will be great. Thus, it is imperative for a person to dedicate himself to understand and contemplate the wisdom and knowledge that inform him of his Creator.” (Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Teshuvah 10:6)

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The Knowledge Of G-D – 2:9

From the above it is clear that the order of deep contemplative meditation is as follow;

There must be an initial Da’at which is the focus and concentration of the mind on the subject matter to the exclusion of all else.

As soon as the mind is focused on the subject, analysis must begin. This is the intellectual investigation into the matter. One turns it over and over in his mind in an attempt to truly understand all the particulars of the concept and the relationships between its various components. However, what he is actually trying to understand is the very essence of the concept.

The automatic result of the concentration of Da’at coupled with the analysis of Binah is an insightful flash of understanding (Chochmah) into the subject. This is the depth of intellect, which is the spring of Chochmah from where flashes of insight trickle forth into the comprehension of Binah, like lightning bolts.

From the examination of these three faculties of the mind, it becomes clear that all forms of “meditation” consisting of mantras and concentration exercises etc. which purport to bring about “insight into true reality” are false by definition. As explained, the faculty of concentration can only act as a vessel for the faculty of analysis. However, it is specifically the analysis, and only the analysis, which leads to the intuitive flash of insight into the subject. (Of course concentration is a necessary prerequisite to analysis. However, concentration, by itself, is only an empty vessel. Only when this vessel is filled by analysis can there be a flash of intuitive understanding and insight into the subject.)

This may be illustrated by the well known story of Archimedes. As mentioned in Part One, the king commissioned Archimedes to weigh the royal throne in order to determine whether the builders had pilfered gold in its construction. Archimedes, who was the greatest mathematician of his time, repeatedly analyzed the problem without success. One day, he was about to bathe. As sat in the tub he noticed the displacement of water and suddenly the solution flashed into his mind. It all came together for him. He jumped out of the tub and ran down the streets of Athens, stark naked, yelling Eureka! Eureka! I found it! I found it!

This was a flash of Chochmah – Intuitive Insight. People had been taking baths for thousands of years. Why didn’t this principle occur to them? Since they did not do the analysis (Hitbonenut), they did not have the flash of understanding. This shows how it is that, specifically, Hitbonenut (Analysis) activates Chochmah.

If someone were to claim that he achieved a mastery of medicine simply by meditating on the word “medicine” for many years, only a fool would risk his life by putting himself under his care. As mentioned above, the conclusions of one who merely concentrates without analysis clearly cannot be revelations into the truth of reality. Instead, he has induced delusional hallucinations in himself. This is self evident to those who are honest and do not delude themselves.